Erudite
by kw1o1
Summary: The Erudite has stolen important information from the Abnegation, so Beatrice's parents and Marcus ask Beatrice to fulfill the most selfless job: move to Erudite and steal back the information. (Erudie!Tris)
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**  
Every week, my parents have meetings with other Abnegation council members. Whenever the members, such as Marcus Eaton, come over, I am either sent to my room or to help feed the factionless with Caleb. Last week was the same. Marcus knocked on the door, and I avoided his eyes when I bowed in greeting and murmured a "hello." Marcus did the same and walked to the usual room. After the last member joined the meeting, I left along with Caleb.  
As I walked to the building that holds the food, I asked Caleb, "What do you think they are talking about in there this time?"  
Caleb did what I expected. He looked at me disapprovingly and told me to, "Stop being too curious." The line to pick up food moved then, and we picked up our food to distribute it to the factionless without another word about our parents' meetings.  
When I took a step into our home, my parents were still in their meeting. This was quite strange because they'd usually be finished by the time Caleb and I were done. I didn't think much about it and went straight to my room, wanting to avoid Caleb's disapproving talks. But today I learn why the meeting was prolonged.  
**Chapter One**  
After I return from my aptitude test, I find my parents waiting in the living room for me and probably Caleb. I expect them to tell me ahead about the meeting, so I would to go to my room, but they surprise me by telling me I'll be joining them. "There's something we need to ask you."  
I raise an eyebrow, waiting for an answer. My mother gently shakes her head and says, "Not now. We'll explain it to you in the meeting."  
I widen my eyes in surprise. "You want _me_ in your meetings?!" If they were going to ask anyone to join one of their meetings, I thought they'd ask Caleb first.  
My father's tired eyes grow serious. "Yes, I hope you agree to join." He's requesting for my attendance, but he's subtly demanding me to join."  
I agree. "Yes, of course."  
When Caleb returns, our parents tell him to go to my room. He looks at me curiously, but doesn't say or ask anything like any good Abnegation member. He truly belongs here unlike me. He'll most likely choose to stay here at the Choosing Ceremony.  
As I walk into the room, my mother lets the other members in. In the center of the room, there's a big wooden table of the room surrounded by wooden chairs. Simple. I take a seat next to my father. Everybody else takes their seat.  
My father clears his throat and begins. "Beatrice, the Erudite wants to hurt the Abnegation. We originally had an extremely important information, but Jeanine stole it from us. We need to get it back."  
"What do you want me to do?" I ask.  
My father gives me a pained expression but doesn't say anything. Marcus answers my question for him. "We need you to choose the Erudite faction and find a way to get the information."  
"Why me? What makes you think I'll be able to pass the initiation there?"  
"We know you are smart enough," Marcus answers. "Please, it's for the good of everyone."  
I chew on the inside of cheek. If I choose to go there, I'll be making a huge sacrifice, a selfless decision.  
"Okay."


	2. Chapter 2

I climb twenty flights of stairs to reach the Choosing Ceremony along with the other Abnegation members. My father holds the door open on the twentieth floor and stands like a sentry as every Abnegation current member walks past him. I would wait for him, but the crowd presses me forward, out of the stairwell and into the room where I will decide to choose the Erudite faction. We arrange ourselves in alphabetical order, according to the last names we may leave behind today. I stand between Caleb and Danielle Pohler, an Amity girl with rosy cheeks and a yellow dress. Marcus will give the opening address and read the names in reverse alphabetical order. Caleb will choose before me.

Marcus stands at the podium between the Erudite and the Dauntless and clears his throat into the microphone.

"Welcome," he says. "Welcome to the Choosing Ceremony. Welcome to the day we honor the democratic philosophy of our ancestors, which tells us that every man has the right to choose his own way in this world." I squeeze Caleb's fingers as hard as he is squeezing mine. "Our dependents are now sixteen. They stand on the precipice of adulthood, and it is now up to them to decide what kind of people they will be." Marcus's voice is solemn and gives equal weight to each word. "Decades ago our ancestors realized that it is not political ideology, religious belief, race, or nationalism that is to blame for a warring world. Rather, they determined that it was the fault of human personality—of humankind's inclination toward evil, in whatever form that is. They divided into factions that sought to eradicate those qualities they believed responsible for the world's disarray." My eyes shift to the bowls in the center of the room.

Marcus begins to read the first names. I recognize most of them, but I doubt they know me. "James Tucker," Marcus says. James Tucker of the Dauntless is the first person to stumble on his way to the bowls. He throws his arms out and regains his balance before hitting the floor. His face turns red and he walks fast to the middle of the room. When he stands in the center, he looks from the Dauntless bowl to the Erudite bowl. Marcus offers him the knife. He breathes deeply—I watch his chest rise—and, as he exhales, accepts the knife. Then he drags it across his palm with a jerk and holds his arm out to the side. His blood falls onto glass, and he is the first of us to switch factions.

"Caleb Prior," says Marcus. Caleb squeezes my hand one last time, and as he walks away, casts a long look at me over his shoulder. I watch his feet move to the center of the room, and his hands, steady as they accept the knife from Marcus, are deft as one presses the knife into the other. Then he stands with blood pooling in his palm, and his lip snags on his teeth. He breathes out. And then in. And then he holds his hand over the Erudite bowl, and his blood drips into the water, turning it a deeper shade of red. I hear mutters that lift into outraged cries. I can barely think straight. He's supposed to choose Abnegation. Did my parents plan this? Or was this his own decision? I look towards the audience and try to find my parents, to look for some sort of confirmation. "Excuse me," says Marcus, but the crowd doesn't hear him. He shouts, "Quiet, please!" The room goes silent. I hear my name and a shudder propels me forward.

Marcus offers me a knife. I look at him and try to find a sign of confirmation from him. He gives me a nod of encouragement, and I turn toward the bowls. I hold the knife in my right hand and touch the blade to my palm. Gritting my teeth, I drag the blade down. It stings, but I barely notice. I hold both hands to my chest, and my next breath shudders on the way out. I open my eyes and thrust my arm out. My blood drips into the Erudite bowl. More shouting follows as now there are _two_ Erudite transfers who are from Abnegation and are Andrew Prior's children.

**I know this chapter was a lot like the book's, but I just wanted to keep the tradition and quotes right. I also made this a lot shorter than the book's and obviously changed it to make it fit my story. I'm actually working on a new chapter now, so that will probably be uploaded today :)**


	3. Chapter 3

I stare down at the floor and stand behind the Erudite-born initiates who chose to return to their own faction. When the last girl makes her choice-Amity-it's time to leave. The Dauntless exit first. I stare longingly at the black clad group leaving, maybe for a bit too long because Caleb nudges me with his shoulder. The Amity and Candor leave. Then it's the Erudite's turn. I look back at my parents and find my father giving me a small smile. My mother too. I return the smile and walk with the others.

The crowd of Erudite leading us walks calmly towards the elevators. We split up into separate groups. The group at the front is Erudite-borns. The second group is Erudite-borns. The third group is just the Erudite-transfers. During the elevator ride, I can feel Caleb's eyes on me, questioning me. He probably doesn't believe I belong in Erudite, which is true.

My eyes uncomfortably shift to the person standing on my left. It's James Tucker from Dauntless. He smiles, and I smile back. "I'm James," he says, offering me his hand. A Dauntless greeting. I shake his hand, making sure I don't squeeze too hard or not hard enough. "I'm Beatrice."

The elevator doors open, and my group steps out. Everyone walks to the train, and everyone stands with their group. "What do you think life at Erudite is like?" James asks.

"I don't know. Maybe school" I joke. James shrugs and says, "Who knows." The train stops, and we all walk towards Jeanine, the head of the Erudite.

She scans the group and stops for a few seconds longer at me and Caleb. She smirks. "My name is Jeanine. As you all probably know, I am the leader of this faction. In order to evaluate each and every one of you, your first stage of initiation will take place now. We will be testing you."

A burst of murmurs interrupts her, and a transfer shouts, "That's not fair. The members from Erudite clearly have an advantage since they've all learned this stuff from the beginning." The group of transfers grunt in agreement. Jeanine answers, "This test only includes the lessons you all learned from school. We are only testing how much you remember."

I look back at my group and see most of them are still nervous. Jeanine walks to another room, and we all follow her. The room is filled with desks and chairs. "Take a seat."

The Erudite-born members walk to a chair and sit. Caleb follows. The rest of us stand nervously. A few bite their lips. James shrugs and walks to a chair. I sit next to him. The others finally calm down and find a spot. Jeanine clears her throat and slightly nods at the older Erudite members. They begin passing out the tests and pencils.

During the next hour, I notice a few members getting kicked out. The test is filled with questions from history, math, and science. Luckily I remember a majority of the information in those subjects. By the time we all complete the test, around a quarter of the room is empty. "Around a quarter of the room is gone because we caught them cheating. Here, we do not take cheating lightly," Jeanine says with a smirk in the end.

She dismisses us to lunch. "We will show you the results after you finish lunch." Everyone will probably be talking about the test and barely eat.

The Erudite members are noticeably more relaxed, reading while eating. "Caleb," I say while in the lunch line. He looks back at me with both his eyebrows raised. "What do you think of the test?" I ask. Caleb thinks for a moment before saying, "It was pretty easy actually." After seeing my confused look, he explains, "I always found those subjects interesting." I can only say, "Oh."

The lunch they give us includes a salad with chicken and a bowl of fruit. "Here," James gives me a cup that has bubbles inside. I stare suspiciously at it. "What is it?"

"I don't know," he says, "just try it. It's good." I stare at him for a moment before putting the cup to my lips and trying it. My face immediately scrunches up. "It tastes weird."

He widens his eyes, "Is it? Well, I'm not going to try it now." I roll my eyes and continue eating. "So what did you think of the test?" I ask. James shrugs and says, "Okay I guess."

"The results are up!" an Erudite member says. We all abandon our lunch and walk back into the room. The board at the front has a list of our names.

Jeanine calls for order, and we all sit back in our chairs. "All of your names are listed in order based on how well each of you did on your test. If your name is under the line, then you did not meet the requirements. You will be forced to leave this faction."

Not surprisingly, all the Erudite-born members passed. I passed, but I'm at the lower half. James is right above me. Caleb is at the top with the Erudite-born members. Three transfers are out. Factionless. They begin to cry, and the other transfers begin to console them.

"Those who failed will have until tonight to leave," Jeanine says. "The rest of you will follow me now." She leads us to another part of the building. "Here, there are a couple dorms. You will be paired up with another person of your gender. We have already chosen your room for you, using a mathematical system." She begins announcing our names and which room we'll be staying at. I'm paired up with a girl from Amity named Paula. "There is a set of rules here. If they are broken, you will face consequences. The first rule is that you must wear at least one article of blue clothing per day. Blue is a calming color that helps stimulate the brain. The second rule is that you must wear glasses every day. They make you look smarter. Our third rule is that you may not bring someone of an opposite sex into your dorm. In other words, you may not copulate."

She lets us leave to our dorms then. Our room has two beds, closets, and desks. On my desk, I find a pair of glasses. My closet is filled with blue clothes. Tomorrow, she'll tell us what we will do in our second stage.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, Jeanine makes a morning announcement, waking me and everyone up. Despite the loudness, Jeanine calmly speaks, "Everyone get dressed and join me in the library." I silently groan to myself. It is six in the morning. I don't even wake up that early back in Abnegation, but I obey. I change into a loose blue shirt and pants and put on the fake pair of glasses.

I pinch the bridge of my nose and drag my legs across the hallway, bumping into the other transfers. Then I hear a whisper, "Aren't you ready to learn more?" Caleb.

I groan and say, "No. I'm tired right now. We should be asleep right now." He chuckles but shakes his head in disagreement.

We reach the library, and I look around, noticing all but Caleb is tired. If I was not tired right now, I would probably be as amazed, but I'm not. Jeanine clears her throat and explains, "In the next stage, you all will be here a lot to graduate the second stage."

More studying. I'm not surprised. She continues, "In the next stage, you will all study sociology, psychology, mathematics, science, communication, and history. After a month, we will all test you on your knowledge. Erudite-borns, do not be presumptuous because you _will_ be learning completely new material." Multiple Erudite-borns cry out in protest, but Jeanine silences them with a single glare. "Did you not return to learn more? If so, leave now."

Everyone remains silent, and Jeanine nods approvingly. "Good. Now you may all use your time as you wish." Now, I'm no longer tired, so I begin checking out books under psychology and sociology, subjects I have never learned before. I notice Jeanine smile at me. Others begin to follow.

**I'm finally into Divergent again, so I'll be updating more often. Sorry for the short chapter, but I'll be updating tomorrow. I **_**might**_ **do a time skip through stage two just so Tobias/4 can come sooner! **


	5. Chapter 5

I groan and drag myself out of bed by seven. I rub my eyes and grab the first blue thing I find in my closet-a jacket. I change into my new set of clothes for the day and walk through the hallway and into the lobby. I walk straight to the front desk, where a middle-aged man with a bald patch on the crown of his head sits, sorting through a stack of paper. I tap my finger on his desk to grab his attention.

"Excuse me," I say.

Without even giving me a glance, he holds up a finger and answers, "Give me a moment."

After he finishes shuffling through his papers, he looks up at me, disinterested, and asks, "How may I help you?"

"I am an Erudite-transfer," I begin to say. He rolls his eyes and mumbles, "Evidently." I ignore his comment and continue, "Which room do I go to first?"

He asks for my name and types it into the computer then prints something out. "Here. It's your schedule for Stage Two."

I mutter a thanks and walk towards my first class: Mathematics. What a terrible way to start the day.

After I finish my last class of the day, Science, I quickly walk back to my dorm and take a nap. I sleep until three in the morning then quickly change into the darkest clothes I have. I grab my Science textbook and then crack open the door. I look down the hallways. No one. Then I quietly shut the door and silently speed walk down the hallway and leave through the back door.

I walk to a train outside the faction to avoid suspicion and wait for the four o'clock train. As it arrives, I get ready to jump on. The train is faster than I anticipated, but I make it onto the last cart. I use the time to study for the upcoming test.

The train arrives at Abnegation within twenty minutes. I jump off but land on my arm. I grit my teeth in pain but make my way to Abnegation.

I knock on my parents' door twice, then three times, then six times, just like parents told me to. My mother opens the door and hugs me, obviously relieved.

"Come in, your father and Marcus Eaton are waiting for you." She gently smiles. I nod and walk in.

My father calls my name with a relieved smile. "You passed the first stage." I nod and wait for him to tell me more about the information I'm looking for. He sighs, uncomfortable with what he has to say next. Instead of informing me, he leads me to the meeting room.

My father watches his thumbs as he twiddles with his thumbs and begins talking. "You know the Erudite oppose the Abnegation as leader of the factions." I nod and urge him to continue.

He clears his throat but stutters as he continues, "Well, the Erudite wants to overthrow Abnegation." My eyes widen at this new information. However, Marcus is tapping his foot impatiently. Clearly, there is more than he is letting on.

Marcus cuts in. "A small portion of the population is what we call, 'Divergent.'" Something in me goes cold. My test administrator, Tori, told me that I am a Divergent. Nevertheless, my face stays neutral. "What's Divergent?"

"Divergents have more than one aptitude, and are unaffected by simulations serums," Marcus rushes through his answer. He wants to talk about the Erudite's rebellion more. "The Erudite is planning to invade Abnegation, but we do not know how." I nod. The Erudite is not exactly physically strong.

But why start a rebellion _now_? The Erudite has never liked the Abnegation, but they have never wanted to _invade,_ and _kill_ us. "Why do they want to invade now?" I ask.

My father sighs but states, "We planned to release a video that concerns everybody in the city, but the Erudite disagrees and stole the video from us. We need you to find out their invasion plans and the video."

"I will, but what is the video about?"

They share nervous glances. I clench my hand and seethe, "I can't find the video without having any idea what's on it." They both sigh. "We can only say that the video is about our history."

_What about our history?_ I never thought learning more about our past was important. I want to argue for more, but I know I won't be getting anymore. It's almost six. I need to go back to Erudite now.

**I decided I won't time skip through Stage 2, but I **_**will**_ **skim through it. I can't wait for the next chapter to be posted. Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

My science teacher leads us through a hallway and up the stairs. "You will each help us create serums. I will provide each of you ingredients with specified measurements. After you finish creating the serums, you will test them on an experimental subject."

I raise my hand. "Who will we test them on?" By then, we reach the floor filled with Labs. She leads us to a specified room and responds, "We will be testing your serums on the factionless. Enough of the factionless have agreed to be experimented on in exchange for food," with an undertone of humor.

I swallow my sickening feeling. I need to focus on the bigger picture: save the Abnegation and avoid potential war. We walk into the Lab and find a man lying down on a metal tray. He can't be older than us by two years. He glares at us with his dark blue eyes, completely different from what I expected. He hates us, not that I blame him.

My teacher turns to talk to us. "This is subject #46312. I will demonstrate how your experiments should look." She walks over to him and injects the serum into his neck. He doesn't flinch or move, so he must be used to injections. I move my hand to cover my neck. I cannot imagine being injected that many times.

He goes limp. After a few moments, he looks up. His eyes are alert. He looks around for a few seconds as if confused by what he sees.

Most of my classmates "oh" in wonder and excitement, including Caleb. I look back at the factionless man and see him glaring at me in particular. He charges at me. My classmates try to push him away, and my teacher injects him again. He goes limp again. I suspect a tranquilizer.

"Now, each of your experiments will vary. Hopefully most of them won't end up like this one." I stop paying attention to her and instead focus on the factionless man.

**I bet you can guess who's here. I've been wanting to update but the internet wasn't working. :)**


	7. Chapter 7

"You will each pick a number from the hat. Your number will determine which experimental subject you will working on." My teacher, Cara, walks past the first two rows with a hat in her hand. As she walks past the tables, my classmates lean forward and pick out a slip of paper. She walks up to my table, and I pick a piece of paper. Four.

Cara then proceeds to demonstrate how to create serums.

…..

We walk down the hallway, some of us talking amongst ourselves. We turn a corner and climb the stairs. When we reach the next floor, we all separate. I walk to the fourth Lab down.

Inside, lies _him_. He glares at me, and my breath hitches. I ignore my sickening feeling and walk towards him. I just need to inject him with the serum and note his reactions. As I prepare his injection, he speaks up. "What's wrong with you?"

I immediately whip around. "What?"

He nonchalantly responds, "Other Erudites wouldn't be nervous when experimenting," shrugging.

"Well, I don't think other Erudites have been strangled," I retort.

He shrugs. "Not my fault."

"I know." He looks at me with a raised eyebrow. "I know it's the serum, and you have every right to hate us," I explain. He narrows his eyes but agrees.

He exposes his neck for me. "I've never done this before," I say as I bring the syringe closer to his neck with shaking hands. He breathes in exasperation. "Right here," he says, touching a spot on his neck with his fingernail. My hand still shakes a little as I push the needle in. He doesn't even flinch.

I take a few steps back, grab a tranquilizer, and brace myself for what comes next. His body slacks, then he looks up with alert eyes. Just like yesterday. However, he doesn't do anything this time. He just looks around for two minutes and focuses on me for a solid minute. He then collapses. I help him back onto the metal tray. He cautiously looks at me. "Are you okay?"

He nods. Relieved, I begin to note his reaction and detail his eyes in particular. I cannot exactly write more since nothing else happened. If I write about his eyes, my report will look longer.

After I complete my report, I look back at him. "Are you sure you're okay?" He responds the same way as before, so I say, "Bye…" hoping he would offer his name.

He doesn't bother responding. "I'll just call you 'Four' since that's the first number of your subject number," I say with a smile.

I notice his lips twitching but only briefly. If I blinked when he did, I probably would have missed it.

I smile at him and leave with a wave.

**I hope this chapter didn't disappoint you. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Pretty Mi: I'll explain why they didn't choose to send Caleb in the future. I will try my best to shorten the paragraphs/space out the sentences more. Four is factionless in this fanfic. I will explain why in the future. :)**

"Why do you all wear fake glasses?" Four asks after his injection wears off.

I look at him, shocked _he_ asked me a question first. "It's part of the rules. The glasses are supposed to make us look Erudite," I explain as I record the data.

The edge of his lips twitch, but he recovers and indifferently says, "That's pretentious."

I stare at him for a moment and then start laughing. "That is true," I say, still laughing.

After I finish laughing, Four asks, "Can I ask you a question?"

Curious, I nod. "Sure."

"What's your name?"

"Beatrice."

He frowns. "What?" I ask.

"That name doesn't suit you," he explains with a shrug. I shrug too, "Well, that's my name."

Silence fills the room. I ask him, "What's your real name?"

"What makes you think I will answer?" he snaps.

I reply, "I answered your question," putting an emphasis on "your."

Four sighs. "I can't answer that question. Just continue calling me 'Four;' that's what people back in my faction called me anyways."

I perk up. "Which faction are you from?"

"Dauntless."

I grin. At least I know a little bit more about him. I already finished writing my data. "I have to leave now. See you tomorrow." I smile and leave.

…..

At three in the morning, I sneak out to chase a train. I toss my textbook into a train cart. I jump into the same cart and search for my textbook.

A familiar calls out, "Are you looking for this?" My hands begin to shake, and the rest of my body shakes.

I turn and find Four toying with a knife. He kicks my textbook towards me. I hide my nervousness and boldly ask "What are you doing here?"

Four raises an eyebrow. "I can ask you the same. Shouldn't you be asleep in your dorm?"

"None of your business," I retort.

"Annoying, isn't it?" he responds with a glint of humor, "Being asked personal questions."

I huff, annoyed. "I'm seeing my parents."

"That's against the rules," he adds, "Not very Erudite."

"I have a reason. I don't just miss them."

"I know why you're going to see them," he looks at me, humorless. I warily peer at him. "Why?"

"To talk about the war the Erudite is planning against Abnegation."

Stunned, I look at him, "How do you know?"

"Your parents formed an alliance with the factionless recently. They asked me to take you to the meeting between Evelyn and them."

"Okay. Take me there."

**Wow, that was a lot of dialogue. Anyways, if any of you guys have advice for the plot or writing style, please send them!**


End file.
